MEGASTARS
MEGASTARS
Volume 3, Issue 2
July 2000
More than 400 million inhabit the Middle East which represents approximately 6% of the world population. This area of the world spans the three continents of Africa, Asia and Europe and is characterized by its population diversity along ethnic and religious lines. This geographic area is also known to have one of the highest inbreeding coefficients in the world and consequently a plethora of autosomal recessive disorders. A database of the different genetic disorders present in this region with a list of all Middle Eastern geneticists is currently in preparation by my colleague and friend, Prof. Ahmed S. Teebi, the founder of the Middle East Geneticists of America (MEGA). The MEGASTAR of this issue, Prof. Mohsen Ali Faris El-Hazmi, is a distinguished Middle Eastern medical scientist from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who set out to eradicate the detrimental genetic results of consanguinity. Prof. El-Hazmi is world renowned for his commitment to community genetics.
Prof.
Mohsen El-Hazmi
BSc(Hons), MBBChir(Cantab),
PhD(Cantab), FRCPath, FACB
A Distinguished Middle
Eastern
Community
Geneticist and Regional Educator
By Dr. Talaat I. Farag
 Prof. El-Hazmi at Ain Shams University/MEGA conference, Egypt (November 1999). |
 Prof. El-Hazmi at Sultan Qaboos University conference, Oman (January 2000) |
Persona
Being able to bridge the broad gap between the medical profession and the community it serves has always been a trying task. Prof. El-Hazmi, a professor of medical biochemistry and consultant clinical biochemist in King Khaled, King Abdul Aziz and King Saud Universities has dedicated his life to this particular cause. He is the author of 8 books and 663 published papers and abstracts in a variety of international scientific journals and one of the main contributors in Teebi & Farag (1997), encyclopedic book entitled, "Genetic Disorders Arab Populations" published by Oxford University Press in New York. He is the founder of the college of medicine research center in King Saud University and the former vice-dean of the college. He is the founder supervisor general of Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 1994, Prof. El-Hazmi became chairman of the National Committee of the Blood Genetic Disorders. He is an active member of the WHO Advisory panel on Hereditary Diseases since 1992 and of the Arab Group for the Study of Blood Genetic Disorders from 1993. He is the director of the WHO collaborating center for haemoglobinopathies, thalassaemias and enzymopathies since 1991. He is also a member of the Eastern Mediterranean Advisory Committee on Health Research (EM/ACHR) and a temporary advisor of the WHO Regional Office in Alexandria, Egypt.
His professional training was in UK, USA, Canada, France, Finland, Italy, New Zealand, Greece, Netherlands and Egypt and his fields of interest are0 biochemical sciences, prevention of genetic disorders and rehabilitation of the handicapped.
Instead of living isolated in his lab, Prof. El-Hazmi, immersed his effort to study the medical problems that faced the Saudi people, the Gulf region, the Arabs and Middle Eastern populations along with finding both preventive techniques of genetic disorders and rehabilitation methods for the disabled.
The Steps to Success
In 1972, he received his BSc degree with honors from King Saud University (Riyadh) and in 1978, attained his PhD (clinical biochemistry) from Cambridge University, UK. His thesis was about, "Haemoglobinopathies as examples of molecular pathology." He then graduated from the medical college at Cambridge in 1989. He became member and fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (UK) in 1986 and 1993 respectively.
His early work in the 1970's with Drs. Picken, J. G. Lines, and H. Lehmann helped him to unveil new pockets for high incidence of Hb Riyadh, Hb S gene (Tehmat-Aseer & Khaiber), and cases of A-B-Thalassaemias. This encouraged him to work on a project on the "Aspects of human haemoglobins and haemoglobinopathies in the Arabian peninsula - studies at genetic and molecular levels," which is still being financed by King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (1982-present).
Prof. El-Hazmi, acquired his training from 21 international centers world wide. He attended and participated in 152 national, regional and international conferences. He is a fellow and member of 17 international professional organizations in the WHO, UK, USA and Spain, and a member of the WHO Regional Office Task Force on Hereditary Disorders in Alexandria, Egypt.
I personally enjoyed attending both his presentations in the MEGA conference held in Ain Shams University, Cairo (November 1999) and in Sultan Qaboos University genetics conference held in Muscat, Oman (January 2000).
He has also organized 35 seminars held in Saudi Arabia since 1978 discussing various aspects of the anemias, development of health services and education, molecular genetics, the cloning dilemma, DNA technology, genetic engineering, etc. He organizes the annual Saudi meeting on molecular genetics. In 1997, he organized a symposium studying Genetic Diseases Among Arab Populations. Prof. El-Hazmi is currently organizing a symposium on genetic disorders among Middle Eastern population, in collaboration with the M.E.G.A., which will be held in Saudi Arabia in April 2001.
A distinguished community-geneticist
Prof. El-Hazmi's name is listed in the International Directory of Distinguished Leadership Award (5th Ed.) for outstanding services to education, prevention and management of Blood Genetic Diseases by American Biographical Institute and the Dictionary of International Biography (Vol. XXIII) by International Biographical Society, Cambridge, England.
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Prof. El-Hazmi noticed how genetic factors are a cause of major problems including sterility, repeated pregnancy loss, major congenital anomalies, mental retardation, different gene disorders, and anemias. Among the Saudi Arabians, selected therapeutic abortions, adoption and artificial insemination are prohibited. This challenged him to be convinced with the need for a community genetic model that includes; SERVICE, TEACHING, EDUCATION, REGISTRY, and RESEARCH in order to conquer the 'evil' genes in the area. In 1992, he knocked the doors of Jackson Laboratory, Maine, USA - attending a course on "Medical and Experimental Mammalian Genetics" organized with Johns Hopkins University, where he strengthened his ties with Prof. V.A. McKusick - The father of medical genetics and teacher of the teachers! Following this experience, he became more interested in the penta-axial community genetics model. The international haematologist became one of the leaders of community genetics and regional educators in the Middle East.
The Pent-axial Community & Preventive Genetics Model
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The penta-axial community genetics model was presented in the last chapter of the book, "Genetic Disorders Among Arab Populations," (Teebi & Farag 1997). Prof. El-Hazmi is an advocate of this model, which was born in Edinburgh University as a part of community pediatrics by Profs. John Forfar & Jim Farquhar. The five aspects of the model are:
I - Service
Prof. El-Hazmi has established community- liaison genetic services in different provincial hospitals. A comprehensive screening program has been initiated to screen different areas of Saudi Arabia for hemoglobinopathies, thalassaemias, and enzymopathies which is valuable in pre-marital genetic counseling. He found that the frequency of major hemoglobinopathy was between 1 to 9.9 per 1000 births in Saudi Arabia and congenital hypothyroidism was 1 in 2666. Also, he noticed that the incidence of Down Syndrome was 1 in 550 live births in Riyadh with lower incidence in the west of the country, ranging from 1/800 to 1/1200. The genetic screening programs in Saudi Arabia are applied at various levels including pre-marital, pre-conception, pre-natal, and neonatal stages.
II - Teaching & Training
Prof. El-Hazmi is known to be an excellent educator for undergraduate and post-graduate healthcare teams that can work in community genetic programs and is the key organizer of 35 courses and seminars. In 1983, he became the chairman of the post-graduate medical education committee in King Saud's University medical college and a member of the international committee for health professions education in the University of Texas Medical College, USA.
He has twelve academic and teaching responsibilities which include teaching undergraduate biochemistry to health science students (medical & dental) along with post-graduate courses for those preparing their MRCP, MRCPath, MSc(Path), and King Saud University fellowship.
III - Mass Community Education
Prof. El-Hazmi is interested in community education and mass community awareness programs. He published many pamphlets in the Arabic language in order to distribute it to doctors, nurses, social workers, teachers and parents in the region. These pamphlets encouraged the people to benefit from the genetic counseling clinics, in order to prevent malformations, mental retardation and other genetic problems. Some of them focused on genetic blood diseases and another about Down Syndrome.
IV - Registry
He established database registries for congenital and genetic malformations in his region. The WHO considered his department as a regional center for blood diseases registry.
V - Research
His 96-pages CV shows that his main fields of specialization are biochemistry/molecular pathology and medicine with interest in the early diagnosis of diabetes, arteriosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, heart, lung, liver, and renal diseases, S.L.E., etc. He has 11 major research activities including the establishment of the a national demographic map and a national working group for blood genetic disorders in Saudi Arabia. Also, he is interested in studying preventive models for major congenital anomalies, handicapping, pathophysiology and molecular defects of non-communicable diseases. From his extensive research, he noted that consanguinity rates in different provinces ranged from 52.1% to 67.7%. Anyone interested in CV information or collaboration, his fax number is (966-1) 467-2575 and his email address is mohsen@ksu.edu.sa.
Further Achievements
Prof. El-Hazmi has six editorial responsibilities. He is the chief editor of the Bulletin of the Arab Group for Study of Diabetes and of the WHO Collaborative Center newsletter, an associated editor of the Saudi Medical Journal and member of the advisory board of the Oriental Journal of Chemistry (India). He is the Vice-President of the Middle East Association of Science Editors (MESE), Bahrain.
He is a key figure in the genetic engineering and biotechnology committee, King Abdul Aziz City for Science & Technology since 1992 and general secretary of the Arab group for the study of blood genetic disorders since 1993.
He presented his researches in different provinces in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Arab, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean countries, in addition to conferences held in Western countries and Japan. Some of the interesting topics he addressed were: Consanguinity among the Saudi Arab population, community services in Saudi Arabia, spectrum of genetic disorders and impact on healthcare delivery, genetic disorders: an underestimated problem in the Middle East, pattern of common anemia among Saudi children, and genetic factors of human disabilities. His studies showed that thalassaemia's are prevalent in all regions of Saudi Arabia that resulted in the adoption of a national program that includes advocacy, mass community health education, pre-marital counseling clinics and care services.
A Lesson from Middle Eastern Community Genetic Models
I hope that the MEGA conference which will be held in Saudi Arabia this coming April will discuss how to encourage BSc graduates to specialize in genetic counseling in order to take part in the community genetics services throughout the Middle East. There is an utmost need to establish a Middle Eastern school for teaching young personnel who are interested to become genetic counselors. We have to benefit from the experience of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and both Ain Shams and Alexandria medical colleges, which offer MD and PhD degrees in medical and human genetics. A new 2-years Masters course in medical genetics with the collaboration of the WHO, MEGA and AGA (Arab Genetics Association) will help to prepare the qualified new regional genetic counselors needed in conquering the 'evil' genes!
References:
A.S. Teebi & T.I. Farag (1997). "Genetic Disorders Among Arab Populations," NY: Oxford University Press.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi & J.M. Picken (1976). "The frequency of middle phalangeal hair in Saudi Arabia," Am J Phys Anthrop., 44: 245-246.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1992). "Genetic diseases in Arabia - a model for national awareness and care program," Saudi Med J, 13:514-520.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi et al (1992). "Psychosocial effects on the Hb disorders when the patient/family unit," Symposium on Blood Genetic Disorders, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1994). "Care for people with hemoglobin disorders," World Health Forum, 15:565-568.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi et al. (1995). "Consanguinity among Saudi Arabian population, " J Med Genet, 32:623-626.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1995). "Human Genome Organization - is there a role for Middle Eastern scientists?," Saudi Med J, 16:371-377.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi et al (1995). "Database, registries, and monitoring of congenital and genetic malformations," Symposium on the Medical Genetics in the Setting of Middle Eastern Populations, KACST, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, pg. 199-205.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1995). "Human somatic gene therapy - pros and cons," Drug Biotechnology Symposium, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1995). "Health counseling and prevailing traditions and religious beliefs in Islamic World," British Medical Genetics Conference, York, UK.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1997). "Community orientated genetic counseling in Islamic heritage," 6th International Conference on Thalassaemia and Haemoglobinopathies, Malta.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1997). "The spectrum of genetic disorders and impact on healthcare delivery," Symposium on Genetic Disorders in Arab Populations, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1997). "Genetic defects and community services in the Arab World, " Symposium on Recent Advances in Molecular Genetics of the Maghreb and Middle East Populations, Tunisia.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi & A.S. Warsy (1997). "Haemoglobinopathies in Arab countries," In Genetic Disorders Among Arab Populations (Eds. A.S. Teebi & TI. Farag), NY: Oxford University Press; 83-110.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1997). "Community services in Saudi Arabia," 1st Gulf Symposium of Genetic Disorders, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
M.A.F. El-Hazmi (1998). "The program for control and prevention of genetic diseases in Saudi Arabia," 4th Eastern Mediterranean Regional Scientific Meeting, Tunisia.
Peter S. Harper (1998). "Practical Genetic Counseling," (5th edition). Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
Victor A. McKusick (1998). " Mendelian Inheritance in Man," 12 eds, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Dr. Talaat I. Farag MBBCH, DCH, MSc, DMSc, FACP, FRCP (Edin) is an adjunct professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS, Canada. He is the author and co-author of more than 150 medical studies. His research interests lie in community and preventive genetics, paleo-pathology, and critical analysis of cultures and civilizations.
